Created in parallel with Shinya Kimura’s Faster Son, Yamaha XSR700 is the first machine to marry the latest tech with old-school style Yamaha has been working hard on its Yard Built projects, with the Faster Son’s philosophy created to introduce bikes from the more modern era – but still with a reverence for the firm’s history.
Paying tribute to the XS650, Yamaha XSR700 has an 815mm high leather seat fitted to an easily customisable bolt-on rear sub-frame. Being able to modify your bike without cutting or welding the frame is core to Yamaha’s Yard Built philosophy, so this is a fairly major step for the company.
While the main frame looks very similar to the MT-07’s, it was a one-piece unit; besides the removable rear (expect to see plenty of single-seat bikes created), a few of the mounting points have been moved slightly. Some of these appear redundant on this machine, so don’t be surprised to see somemore metal based on this platform very soon...
While the XSR shares the MT-07’s engine, swingarm, wheels and much of the running gear, you can be sure that the simply-styled headlight won’t carry the bike’s wiring, as this is bound to be one of the many parts that the company promises will be offered not just in its own catalogue, but by several “globally famous professional custom builders who fell in love with the Yamaha XSR700 concept”.
The new Yamaha has a wet weight of 186kg – just 7kg more than the MT-07. It shares the 282mm wavy front brake discs and four-pot calipers, as well as the wheels and horizontal rear shock with link suspension. The new 14 litre tank is aluminium, as is the front mudguard and headlight bracket.
The machine’s due to be available from January 2016, with the price to be announced at Motorcycle Live, and will come in ‘Forest Green’ or ‘Garage Metal’. MT-07s are hard enough to buy, so if you’ve been toying with the idea of buying one, and love the look of this, we’d suggest you place your order right now!